Connecting block with hinged terminal means

ABSTRACT

A connecting block in which a support member has a large number of terminal clips extending through the member, for connection of wires to both ends, the support member pivotally mounted in a housing so that one or other side of the support member, and related ends of terminal clips, can be selectively presented for wiring. A hinged cover attached to the support member can be utilized to retain the support member in one selected position, the support member normally positioned in the other position, as by gravity.

United States Patent 1191 De Bortoli et a1. 1 1 ,ian. 8, 1197 1 [541CONNECTING BLOCK WITH HINGE!) 3,376,542 4/1968 Vlamincl: 174/60 TERMINALME 2,219,887 1()/194() Bowly 179/98 3,112,147 1l/1963 Pferd 339/198 R 1inventors: Gwrge De Bortoli, Ottawa; Heimut 2,098,321 11/1937 Treplow317/122 Hans Lukas, Carleton Place, 3,666,996 5/1972 Brown 317/118Ontario, both of Canada [73] Assignee: Northern Electric CompanyLimited, Primary Exami"@r'-R0be1't Schaefer Montreal Quebec CanadaAssistant Examiner-Gerald TOlin [22] F1 d N 20 1972 AttorneySidney T.Jelly [21] Appl. No.: 308,054 ABSTRACT A connecting block in which asupport member has a [52] US Cl gg g g ii large number of terminal clipsextending through the [51] Em C} H01? 9/02 member, for connection ofwires to both ends, the Fie'id "174/59 support member pivotally mountedin a housing so 339/18 B, 125 R, 198 J, 198 R; 179/98; 317/99, 101 D 101DH,101CX,118, 122,120

that one or other side of the support member, and related ends ofterminal clips, can be selectively presented for wiring. A hinged coverattached to the support member can be utilized to retain the supportmember in one selected position, the support member normally positionedin the other position, as by gravmy.

7 C1airns, 6 Drawing Figures Pmmmm m4 3384.728

SHEU 1B? 3 CONNE CTTNG BLOCK WITH HINGE!) TERMINAL MEANS This inventionrelates to connecting blocks, particularly to connecting blocks fortelephone installations.

in present arrangements connecting blocks are usually open and comprisean insulating support member in which are mounted the terminals or clipsto which wires are attached. The member is fixed and it is not easy toobtain working access to both sides of the member which is a necessityas wires are connected to the terminals or clips at both ends. Work onan adjacent block can result in damage, such as breaking or loosen ingof connections. With present constructions there are space limitations,largely because of the difficulty in providing reasonable access to theterminals.

The present invention provides a connecting block in which the supportmember is pivotally mounted in a housing, enabling easy access to bothsides of the memher. The support member can be enclosed to provideprotection to the terminals or clips. The wires can be lead into theconnecting block housing through clamping devices and fanning orspreading arrays, providing a high degree of protection to the wiresplus ready identification and location of particular wires with therelated terminal or clip.

These and other advantages will be evident from the followingdescription of a particular embodiment, by way of example, inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. l is a perspective view of a connecting block, in accordance withthe present invention, mounted on a frame member;

FIG. 2 is a similar view of the block of FlG. l, with the cover openedto show the support member with clips;

FIG. 3 is a further similar view of the block of FIG. 1, showing thesupport member pivoted to provide access to the rear side;

FlG. i is a view similar to that of FIG. 3, but indicating the wiring ofa block;

FlG. E is a view of a connecting block closed, as in FIG. l, but at adifferent angle to show the position of the wires; and

H6. 6 is a perspective view of one form of support member and clips.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5, a connecting block, indicated generallyat 10, comprises a housing ll, a support member 12 holding a pluralityof terminal clips l3, and a cover 14. The block is normally mounted on aframe member 15 when in use. Frame member 15 is part of a frame in atelephone exchange for example.

In FIG. 1, the whole connecting block assembly is in a closed condition,with no connection made to the terminal clips. in the exampleillustrated, the cover 14, which forms the front surface of the blockwhen in the closed condition, is hinged at its lower edge 16. Thesehinges are seen at 17 in FIG. 2. The cover can be slightly recessed asshown, to receive some form of designation marking. Similar marking canbe applied on the inside of the cover. Thehinges 17, in the exampleillustrated in FlG. 1, are separate items attached to the cover 34 andto the support member 12, and are of flexible plastic material. Thehinges have a transverse portion 38 of reduced thickness which providesthe hinging action.

As will be seen, ready access is provided to the front ends, or beams,of the terminal clips 13. The clips T3, in the example described, eachaccept two wires. The wires to be connected to the front ends of theclips iii are brought through slots Zli formed at the top of the back ofthe housing ii. In the present example two slots are provided and it ispossible to pull wires down into the slots 12d through small gaps 2ll.The wires are also positioned further in a series of slots 22, a slotfor each column of clips 13. The wires are again positioned in the slots22 by pulling through a small gap 23 provided for each slot.

The clips 13 are held in the support member and the support member iscarried by a frame 25 which is in turn pivotally attached to the housingM by pivots 26. By this means it is possible to pivot the support memberupwards, to a position as seen in FIG. 3. The support member can beretained in this position by the cover M being carried over and backwith a projection on the cover engaging with a recess on the housing.The projection is seen at 27 in FlG. 2 and the recess is seen at 23 inFIGS. l and 2.

By pivoting the support member to the position seen in FIG. 3, easyaccess is provided to the rear or back ends of the terminal clips 13. inthe present example these rear ends are adapted to the making ofconnections by wire wrapping. The wires are fed through the baclt of thehousing, through aperture 343, FIG. 3, and then through a furtheraperture defined by two members 31.

A clamping member 3'32 slides in slots formed in the member 31, beingheld in any desired position by a screw 33. The clamping member 32 canbe adjusted along the slots to clamp the wires passing through theaperture defined by the members 31. Thus varying quantities of wires canbe accommodated. This clamp ing also acts as a strain relief to avoidstrain being placed on the wires to the terminal clips. The members 31can be spread apart by completely removing the screw 33, and, ifdesired, one of the members St, for example the top one in FlG. 3, canbe completely removable. lndividual wires are then fed through slots Edin a fanning strip 35, seen more clearly in FIG. ll. There is a slot 34for each column of clips 13.

After wiring of the clips at the rear of the support member, the membercan be pivoted down. it is held in place by screws 36 engaging inthreaded lugs 37 (FIGS. 3 and i). FlG. 5 shows a connecting block inwhich the rear ends of the terminal clips have been wired. it will beseen that all the wiring is contained within the bloclt and isprotected.

The support member and the clips carried thereby can readily be changed.The support member can be removed by detaching the frame 25 at thepivots 26. A support member of similar form or of another form can bereplaced in the housing. Thus support members with clips having threelegs, as seen in FlG. 2 can be used, or an alternative form supportmember with clips having two legs can be used as seen in FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 illustrates one form of a support member 12 having terminal clips13 with three legs or beams 4%, 4i and 42 at the front ends. The rearends 43 are of a form acceptable for wire wrapping. The support member22 is of moulded plastic material. The slots 22 with gaps 23 are clearlyseen in FIG. 6. Also seen in FlG. b is a further gap 54 below each slot22. When wiring is being carried out, the wires for a particular columnof terminal clips are pulled through the top gap 23 into the opencentral portion of the slot 22. The wires can remain in this slot afterconnection to a clip if only a temporary connection is being made. For apermanent connection, the wires can be pulled down into the gap 44.

The connecting block of the invention is of considerably different formas compared to conventional connecting blocks presently in use. The newblock is very much more compact, a hundred pairs of terminal clips beingprovided in the space of 50 pairs in a conventional design. The block isself-contained and enclosed, the wires being protected and the terminalclips shielded with less likelihood of damage. The ability to pivot thesupport member, providing easy access to both ends of terminal clips,enables a reduction in size with closer spacing of clips. as the easyaccess makes it easier to make connections to individual clips. Thisease of access also reduces the possibility of injury to the hands ofthose engaged on wiring the clips or checking the wiring. It is notnecessary to pass hands between adjacent connecting blocks as is thecustom with present connecting blocks. This is because pivoting of thesupport member gives front face" access to both sides of the supportmember.

The support member is held firmly in position by the screws 34 when thefront ends of the terminal clips are being wired. When released byunscrewing the screws 34 and pivoted over, the support member can beheld firmly in the new position by inter-engagement of the projection 27on the cover 14 to recess 28 on the housing 11. However, the supportmember 12 can readily be removed and replaced by a support member ofsimilar or different form. Conveniently the support member 12, frame 25and cover 14 are removed as a unit at the pivots 26. By forming thehousing in a metal material having some flexibility it is easy to removea support member by simply flexing the side of the housing to disengagethe pivots. As an alternative the housing can be a plastic moulding,also having some flexiblity.

In an alternative form of construction. the cover 14 is moulded with anintegral hinge in the form of a strip which is attached to and formspart of the support member. Hinging of the cover is obtained by theflexing of a thin portion between cover and strip. This altemative isseen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the thin portion indicated at 45.

What is claimed is:

1. A connecting block for a telephone system, comprising:

a housing having a back member and two spaced apart side membersextending forwardly from said back member, parallel to each other;

pivot means on forward ends of said side members;

a support member positioned between said side members, the supportmember having front and back faces;

pivot means on said support member at each end thereof and pivotallyengaged with said pivot means on said side members. said support membersadapted to present said front and back faces alternatively in a forwardfacing direction; I

a plurality of terminal clips extending through said support member,front ends of the terminal clips extending through the front face of thesupport member and back ends of the terminal clips extending through theback face of the support member; a cover hingedly attached at its loweredge to a lower edge of said front face of said support member;

resilient clip means on an upper edge of said cover and engagement meanson an upper edge of said front face of said support means, thearrangement such that said resilient clip means engage with saidengagement means when said front face of said support member ispresented forward to retain said cover in position over said terminalclips;

stop means on said side members and said support members, said stopmeans positioned to locate said support member in a predeterminedposition, said back face of the support member presented in a forwarddirection; and

interengaging means on said cover and said housing adapted to retainsaid support member in said predetermined position.

2. A connecting block as claimed in claim 1, said pivot means on saidside members substantailly aligned with an upper edge of said housing;said interengaging means on said cover and said housing comprising aresilient clip on the upper edge of said cover and a clipreceiving meanson said upper edge of said housing.

3. A connecting block as claimed in claim 8, said pivot meansdisengageable whereby a support member can be removed from said housingand whereby a support member can be inserted in said housing.

4. A connecting block as claimed in claim 3, said housing of flexiblematerial, said pivot means disengageable by flexing of said housing.

5. A connecting block as claimed in claim 8, said support memberssupporting said plurality of terminal clips in a series of columns, aseries of slots formed in the support member at the front face thereof,a slot substantially aligned with each column of terminal clips; eachslot including a central portion, a firstgap providing initial access tothe slot and a second gap leading from the central portion, thearrangement such that a wire can be pulled through the first gap intosaid central portion, and can further be pulled into the second gap fromsaid central portion.

6. A connecting block as claimed in claim 5, including clamping meansfor wires passing to the support member, said clamping means including amember slidably adjustable to accommodate a variable number of wires.

7. A connecting block as claimed in claim 5, including a fanning memberattached to said support member at the side thereof presenting said rearends of said terminal clips, the fanning member including a slot foreach column of terminal clips.

1. A connecting block for a telephone system, comprising: a housinghaving a back member and two spaced apart side members extendingforwardly from said back member, parallel to each other; pivot means onforward ends of said side members; a support member positioned betweensaid side members, the support member having front and back faces; pivotmeans on said support member at each end thereof and pivotally engagedwith said pivot means on said side members, said support members adaptedto present said front and back faces alternatively in a forward facingdirection; a plurality of terminal clips extending through said supportmember, front ends of the terminal clips extending through the frontface of the support member and back ends of the terminal clips extendingthrough the back face of the support member; a cover hingedly attachedat its lower edge to a lower edge of said front face of said supportmember; resilient clip means on an upper edge of said cover andengagement means on an upper edge of said front face of said supportmeans, the arrangement such that said resilient clip means engage withsaid engagement means when said front face of said support member ispresented forward to retain said cover in position over said terminalclips; stop means on said side members and said support members, saidstop means positioned to locate said support member in a predeterminedposition, said back face of the support member presented in a forwarddirection; and interengaging mEans on said cover and said housingadapted to retain said support member in said predetermined position. 2.A connecting block as claimed in claim 1, said pivot means on said sidemembers substantailly aligned with an upper edge of said housing; saidinterengaging means on said cover and said housing comprising aresilient clip on the upper edge of said cover and a clip-receivingmeans on said upper edge of said housing.
 3. A connecting block asclaimed in claim 8, said pivot means disengageable whereby a supportmember can be removed from said housing and whereby a support member canbe inserted in said housing.
 4. A connecting block as claimed in claim3, said housing of flexible material, said pivot means disengageable byflexing of said housing.
 5. A connecting block as claimed in claim 8,said support members supporting said plurality of terminal clips in aseries of columns, a series of slots formed in the support member at thefront face thereof, a slot substantially aligned with each column ofterminal clips; each slot including a central portion, a first gapproviding initial access to the slot and a second gap leading from thecentral portion, the arrangement such that a wire can be pulled throughthe first gap into said central portion, and can further be pulled intothe second gap from said central portion.
 6. A connecting block asclaimed in claim 5, including clamping means for wires passing to thesupport member, said clamping means including a member slidablyadjustable to accommodate a variable number of wires.
 7. A connectingblock as claimed in claim 5, including a fanning member attached to saidsupport member at the side thereof presenting said rear ends of saidterminal clips, the fanning member including a slot for each column ofterminal clips.